Being There

by Ballz Mahoney

Peppermint Patty has been acting very weird lately and Charlie Brown wants to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like she wants to talk about whatever is bothering her. Rated T for some dark themes and mild language.

Being There

by Sean Mahoney

It was the strangest day of Charlie Brown's life, there was no question about that. His team was playing baseball against Peppermint Patty's, and for the first time ever, they were comfortably ahead. Something was terribly amiss though as Peppermint Patty, one of the greatest and most enthusiastic players of the game he had ever met, was completely disinterested in the game. Usually she would be out in the field shouting energetically, directing her troops to victory while playfully belittling her inferior opponents. This time was different, her pitches were halfhearted throws and she provided no chatter on the mound; in fact she just stood there with a glazed look in her eyes as she allowed Charlie Brown's team to score hit after hit. The rest of her team had tried to pick up her inexplicable slack to varying degrees but it was evident that Peppermint Patty was the glue that held the team together.

As Violet was at bat, Charlie Brown turned to Lucy van Pelt: the resident psychological expert and asked, "Lucy, does Peppermint Patty seem to be acting strange to you?"

Lucy grinned, "Heck right she is! It must be a cold day in a hot place right now because she is basically throwing the game right now!"

"I realize that, my question is why. Something must be seriously bothering her, baseball is normally her life!"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Who cares about that Charlie Brown? We're winning the game right now! Does it really matter why Peppermint Patty is playing like you normally do?"

Charlie Brown frowned at his friend in annoyance, "Something could be seriously bothering her."

"Oh please, Peppermint Patty is an idiot! You know that as well as I do, she probably just flunked a test or something. Stupid people don't have problems Charlie Brown, haven't you ever heard of 'ignorance is bliss'?"

Charlie Brown glared at her, "Have you ever heard you're a terrible person? This isn't fair to her, this isn't a real game. I'm going to forfeit, it wouldn't be a real victory if this is how we win."

Lucy looked at her manager in shock, "You can't be serious Charlie Brown! You're joking, you have to be joking! You realize if you forfeit the game right now everybody is going to hate you for all eternity! Even you can't be this stupid."

…...

Lucy shouted, "I can't believe how stupid you are Charlie Brown! You forfeited the one game we were going to win!" Both teams were packing up after Charlie Brown forfeited the game, citing that he was lead to believe that his team had an unfair advantage over Peppermint Patty's that he didn't bother to elaborate on. Most of the rest of the team had already given him a piece of their minds right after he surrendered and he wondered if he could ever get them to play another game for him again. Lucy of course didn't want to let Charlie Brown live down his latest bout of stupidity so quickly

Charlie Brown repeated himself, grumbling, "Something is seriously bothering Peppermint Patty Lucy, it wouldn't be fair to have kept the game going."

Lucy's brother Linus added, "I understand that Charlie Brown, and it is really good of you to show such concern. You're a really good friend." Charlie Brown smiled before Linus yelled, "But you seriously couldn't think of ANY other way besides throwing the game? We were going to win!"

"Aren't you supposed to be the compassionate one Linus?"

Linus nodded, "Well yes, but come on! We were so close to actually winning!"

Lucy sneered, "Yeah and it's not like Peppermint Patty forfeits whenever you have a nervous breakdown on the field. She just needs to learn that life stinks, get used to it!"

Charlie Brown sighed, "Well I just got everybody on our team to hate me even more that I thought humanly possible, so I'm not going to let that be in vain. I'm going to talk to her, regardless of what you guys think", and with that he stormed off to speak with Peppermint Patty, who was busy packing up the last of the equipment.

"Hey Peppermint Patty, how's it going?"

Without so much as looking at Charlie Brown, she grunted, "Hey Chuck." It was so unlike her, usually she would greet him energetically and start off about some wild topic or something to that effect.

Charlie Brown stood there awkwardly for a moment before asking, "Um, is everything alright?"

Still focusing on packing up the baseball gear she didn't bother looking up at Charlie Brown, "What are you talking about Chuck?"

"Oh well you were just acting strange all game. Like you didn't care, I've never seen you act like this before, especially during a baseball game."

Peppermint Patty groaned, "I'm fine Chuck. I think I'm just feeling sick or something."

Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow, "Sick? Patty my team was actually beating yours! That never happens! I know that something is up!"

Patty stopped what she was doing and stared at Charlie Brown, annoyed, "Oh, is that why you canceled the game Chuck? Out of pity? Well I assure you I can take care of myself right now."

"No it's not that! I'm just worried! What's going on?"

Patty sighed and picked up the sack of equipment, "I told you before Chuck, it's nothing. I'm...just feeling sick is all. You better stay away right now, might catch something."

Peppermint Patty walked off without saying so much as a goodbye; Charlie Brown stared at her as she was walking away, "I know something really is wrong Patty, and I'm going to find out what."

...

"So Charlie Brown was it worth it? Throwing the game because Peppermint Patty was cranky?" Lucy sneered. It was the next day and they were eating lunch together at school.

Charlie Brown muttered, "She insisted she was fine."

Lucy clapped, "Oh well that's wonderful then! Charlie Brown throws the only chance our team has at winning a game, but it's all honky dory because Peppermint Patty is a-okay!"

Charlie Brown grimly replied, "But she's not okay Lucy! I can tell. When I talked to her yesterday she just avoided the issue."

Lucy rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Well maybe she doesn't want you poking around in it Charlie Brown. Whenever I'm in a grumpy mood you're the last person I'd want to see!" She then admitted, "Next to Linus of course."

Charlie Brown sarcastically replied, "Well I'm glad I'm only the second worst person on your list."

"It's quite a distinction, but seriously Charlie Brown, why are you even bothering getting yourself worked up over all this? Maybe Peppermint Patty is going through a rough patch or something. There's nothing you can do about it, so why bother?"

Charlie Brown shifted in his seat awkwardly for a moment before quietly stating, "She's always there for me when I'm feeling down. Even when I really want to be alone, she's always there to try and build me up. Like that time when Snoopy left. I need to be there for her."

"Sheesh Charlie Brown, you're going to make me gag! You can be so sappy sometimes. Look I don't know what you think you're going to accomplish, but if somebody doesn't want to spill their guts to you, you can't make them." She then muttered, "Why you'd want anybody else's baggage on top of your considerable load baffles me."

…...

When school ended, Charlie Brown headed over to talk to Marcie, a quiet bespectacled girl who was a mutual friend of Peppermint Patty's. If anybody knew what was wrong with Patty, it would be her.

Unfortunately Marcie didn't seem to know much more than he did, "I do agree with you Charles that Peppermint Patty has not been acting normally as of late, but I cannot say why. Whatever it is that is bothering her she's keeping guarded. Usually she's very open about whatever is on her mind." Marcie giggled to herself for a moment, "Way too open if you ask me."

Charlie Brown felt himself getting a little more anxious, "That's why I'm so worried. Peppermint Patty is one of the most open people I know. Whenever she has a problem with me, she has no problem letting me and the rest of the world know. Why is she acting so weird about this?"

Marcie shrugged with an apologetic frown, "I can only speculate, Charles."

…...

With Marcie having been a dead end, Charlie Brown decided that he needed to try his luck with Peppermint Patty again. Marcie pointed out that she was practicing with the rest of her team at the park. When he arrived though, he was shocked that a ruckus was occurring; Thibault, a bad tempered player on Peppermint Patty's team with a penchant for chauvinism was in the process of calling Peppermint Patty out.

"You almost cost us the game yesterday you dumb broad! Putting up with somebody like you on a daily basis is bad enough, but if you aren't going to even try to win games anymore then why should any of us bother with you anymore! I want you off the team!"

Peppermint Patty glared at the short little troublemaker but did not raise her voice as she normally would have. She merely stated, "If you don't like how I'm running the team, then you're free to leave Thibault." Charlie Brown, standing behind a tree as to not attract attention wondered if this was the reason why she had been acting so weird. Was it just because Thibault was stirring up trouble? Charlie Brown dismissed that notion quickly; Thibault was angry at Peppermint Patty because of how she was acting yesterday. Besides, he was always causing some kind of issues that she was able to easily deal with in the past.

Some of the more level headed teammates, like Franklin and Roy, tried to get Thibault to lay off her. He lashed out at them, "Are you idiots blind? She's dragging us all down with whatever stupid problems! We almost lost to Charlie Brown's team yesterday! Heck, we actually would have lost if that moron didn't throw it because of that smug air of superiority he has." He pointed at Patty, who was doing everything in her power to ignore him, "You're a liability Patty, and you know why? Because you're a stinking girl. Look at Charlie Brown's team, at least half the players are girls, and they're terrible."

Franklin tried interrupting, "Peppermint Patty has always been the best player on our team..."

Thibault nearly spat at him, "Nobody asked your opinion you darn...!" The death looks on the faces of the rest of the players discouraged Thibault from continuing on that train of thought." Franklin himself had to calm down for a moment and assure himself that the little toad wasn't worth bruising his knuckles for.

Peppermint Patty groaned, "When are you going to get over this hatred of women? The 1950s ended a long time ago buddy." She then bitterly added, "Besides, you're the one who is always saying that I'm practically a guy. So you shouldn't have any problems with me."

Thibault glared at her, "You're a freak, that's what you are! You're not a girl, yet you sure ain't a guy either! It's because of your father I bet, he raised you to be the weirdo you are!"

Peppermint Patty clenched her fists, a vein became visible on her forehead, "What did you say?"

Thibault sneered at her, the rest of the members of the team grew tense; they knew that this was not something Thibault should be talking about. Charlie Brown looked on nervously, unsure of just what was going on. "You never had a mother to teach you your proper place! Your father has done everything that a mother is supposed to do, it's made you confused on what your gender role is!"

To most this would have been another sexist jab by the insufferable chauvinist, but to Peppermint Patty, a line had been crossed at that moment and there was no going back. She nearly hissed at him, "What do you know about my mom?"

Thibault chuckled at her, delighting in the fact that he was finally getting through her thick head, "My pop told me plenty, about how she was always more concerned with her work than her family. He told me that she was always snooping around in places that she should have stayed far away from. Most of all though he told me that she got her just desserts in the end. A fitting end for someone stupid enough to do what she did."

Thibault was about to make a remark about how Patty must have inherited her mother's brains, but was cut short by a swift fist to the face. After reeling in pain for a moment, he found himself grabbed by the collar with a furious Peppermint Patty glaring into his eyes, "I swear to God Thibault, you take back everything you said about my mom!"

Despite the fact that blood was dripping down his nose, Thibault gave her a toothy grin, "You're angry at me because you know that everything I said is true. Every last word of it!" Peppermint Patty quickly punched him in the gut, causing him to keel over in pain. She then proceeded to pummel him, cursing him incessantly.

Roy and Franklin rushed over to hold Patty back, despite how much they despised Thibault, the sheer ferocity Patty was displaying was disturbing. Roy pleaded, "Patty, he's not worth it! He's not worth it!"

Peppermint Patty struggled to try and get out of their grip, but eventually cooled herself down, albeit never taking her eyes off of Thibault who was cowering on the ground, bleeding profusely.

Peppermint Patty, holding back tears, shoved both Roy and Franklin off of her and stormed off in the direction of Charlie Brown. Jumping out from where he was hiding, Charlie Brown tried to stop and talk to her, "Patty I saw what happened, whatever happened to you mom is really bothering you, maybe we should..."

She stopped for a moment to glare at Charlie Brown and growled, "I don't want to talk about it Chuck!" and stormed off.

Charlie Brown frowned as she stormed off and thought to himself, Whatever happened to her mom really is upsetting her right now. I don't care how angry she gets, I want to help her get through this. I'm talking to Marcie again.

As Charlie Brown left for Marcie's, a bruised Thibault sat up and glared at the girl who made him curl up like a fetus as she disappeared in the distance. When he was sure she couldn't quite hear him he yelled out to her, "Why don't you try that again you puesdo-girl!"

He was quickly smacked upside the head by Franklin who spat at him, "Don't you ever give it up?"

…...

Marcie smiled as she let Charlie Brown into his house, "It's nice to see you twice in one day Charles."

The two of them briefly exchanged pleasantries, however Charlie Brown was eager to get down to business, "I saw Peppermint Patty just now Marcie. She wouldn't tell me anything but I saw her go berserk on Thibault for talking about her mom. Given her...rather violent reaction and how defensive she was when I tried to bring it up, I'm pretty sure that's what is bothering her."

Marcie frowned as she heard the news, Charlie Brown sighed, "I feel terrible, I've known her for all these years and not once ever bothered to find out what happened to her mom. I always knew she just lived with her dad, but I never bothered questioning it. I always thought they seemed perfectly happy together."

Marcie nodded, "Mr. Reichardt is a great man, Patty is very lucky to have a father like him, he really cares for her. However I suppose anyone would get upset about not having their mom."

Charlie Brown rubbed his chin, pondering, "That's true, but usually she seems so upbeat, I wonder why it's really getting to her now."

Marcie sighed, "I wish I knew Charles."

They sat awkwardly for a few moments before Charlie Brown asked, "You're her best friend, you must know what happened to her mom. The way Thibault was talking, it sounded like it was something really bad."

Marcie shook her head, "Peppermint Patty never liked to talk about it. The only time she even mentioned it was one time when I was trying to help her make a dress for a skating competition. I asked her why her mom couldn't do it and she simply said she didn't have a mom. At that point I shut my mouth, even saying that I was going to paint my tongue black. Whenever I would subsequently bring it up, she would dismiss any questions. She was never rude about it or anything, but it was always very obvious that she didn't want to talk about it."

Charlie Brown nodded at her, "I can understand Peppermint Patty not wanting to talk about it, but the way she's been acting has me worried about her." He sighed, "I don't know if it's going to do any good, but I'm going to go over to her house one more time and just let her know that if she does want to talk about it, I'm here. Lord knows whenever I have a problem she's been there for me." Charlie Brown thought back to how much she went out of her way to help him out that time it seemed Snoopy had left to live with his previous owner, Lila.

Marcie smiled, "You're a sweet guy Charles, Peppermint Patty is lucky to have a friend like you."

Charlie Brown blushed and stuttered, "Oh, well I don't know about that", and laughed nervously before taking his leave.

…...

Charlie Brown knocked on Peppermint Patty's door hoping that she would answer. To his surprise, it wasn't Peppermint Patty, but rather a rather tall man who answered the door. He had a large round nose, messy dirty-blond hair. He had an untrimmed mustache and a five o'clock shadow as well. Overall he had a rather haggard look about him, he looked like he was in a permanent state of exhaustion. Still though he had the aura of a kind and helpful individual and smiled we he saw that Charlie Brown was on his doorstep, "Hey Chucko, long time no see. Sorry to say that my rare gem isn't here right now; I'll tell her you dropped by if you want."

Charlie Brown frowned; this day seemed to be nothing but dead ends. He then decided that maybe he could be a little more proactive in this regard, "Thanks a lot Mr. Reichardt. Actually if you don't mind there's something I want to talk to you about." Peppermint Patty's dad looked confused, but stepped aside to let Charlie Brown in.

"Ah well come on in Chucko. As much as it pains me to let a Joe Shlabotnik fan into the house, I can always make an exception for one of Patricia's friends. Now what can I can help you with?"

Charlie Brown began to explain, "I'm worried about your daughter sir. She hasn't been acting herself lately. I know something has been bothering her, but she won't talk to anyone about it. I know I am probably being nosy, but I'm really concerned about her. She almost let my team win a baseball game!"

Mr. Reichardt's eyes widened, "Well we certainly can't have that, eh? But all joking aside I know what you're talking about. Patricia gets like this sometimes, unfortunately she isn't one to open up to others about this."

Charlie Brown sighed, "I wish there was anything I could do to help her." They sat in silence for a moment before Charlie Brown asked with much hesitation apparent in his voice, "She reacted very violently when some kid started teasing her about her mom. I know this really isn't my business, but that's what she is so upset about, isn't it?"

Mr. Reichardt's face grew stone grim as he nodded in the affirmative.

"I really know I shouldn't be asking this and I completely understand if you don't want to talk about it but...what ever happened to Peppermint Patty's mom, sir?"

Mr. Reichardt sighed and turned away from Charlie Brown for a moment. Oh me and my big mouth, I shouldn't have asked him that, Charlie Brown thought to himself.

"First thing's first Chucko", Mr. Reichardt replied sternly. Charlie Brown braced himself for a lecture or dismissal, "Stop calling me sir. It's Rick, alright? Good grief you sound like Marcie with all that sir nonsense!" He turned around and smiled at Charlie Brown.

"Um right...Rick", he nervously replied.

"Anyway kiddo, my wife, Patricia's mother...she isn't...well that is to day..." Mr. Reichardt paused trying to think of the most appropriate way to phrase his response. He sighed though, he just had to be forward about it, "She died, when Patricia was four years old."

Charlie Brown gasped and quickly responded, "I'm so sorry!" True, he had considered that Peppermint Patty's mom may indeed have been dead before; but actually hearing the confirmation from her father was very grim.

Patty's father continued, "She was such a sweet woman and certainly beautiful too. I never knew why she ever went for a plain old Joe like me!" Charlie Brown wasn't sure how to react, though he was certain he had heard Peppermint Patty talk about herself like this before.

Charlie Brown smiled at him, "Where did you meet her sir?" He shot a glare towards Charlie Brown who quickly corrected, "I mean Rick!"

Rick smiled, "That's better kid. I meet my wife, her name's Jenny by the way, in the city. You see after I graduated high school I went and got a job unloading trucks at this small time paper company. Jenny happened to work at this nearby diner that I'd go to on breaks. Of course she was just there part time you see, she was studying journalism at the Ctiy University."

Charlie Brown looked at him surprised, "Journalism!" For one reason or another, Charlie Brown would have never thought someone related to Peppermint Patty would be interested in that line of work.

"Oh yeah, Jenny was smart as a whip...whatever that means. And even more so she had an opinion about everything. That's something my daughter definitely got from her."

Charlie Brown smiled, "I can certainly see that."

Mr. Reichardt nodded, "My wife was really passionate about it. After she graduated she quickly got a position on one of the city's big name newspapers as an investigative reporter. It was around then that we decided to tie the knot. She didn't make too much at her job since she had just started but between both our incomes we then quickly decided to have a child, and of course that would be my rare gem." Charlie Brown nodded as he listened, "When Patricia was born both Jenny and I were beside ourselves in joy. The three of us were incredibly close for those years. We couldn't afford a babysitter so we'd take turns bringing her to work with us. I suppose it may have been a little weird for our coworkers, but to us it meant we could spend as much time with her as possible."

Rick smiled, thinking back to the days when his wife was around, "Then around when Patricia turned three, Jenny was promoted to head of her department! Things looked like they were going to be great, she was going to get a major pay raise!" Rick's face then grew somber and he shook his head, "Of course her new position required a lot more time and work than her old one. She needed to stay at the office six days a week and often had to pull all-nighters. Furthermore she couldn't bring Patricia with her anymore, so I had to bring her to the warehouse everyday." He took a deep breath before continuing, "She was working on a big case you see. There was this man," Charlie Brown noticed that Rick had began to clench his fists, "A really terrible man. You're too young to remember him but he was all over the news back then. He was the kind of guy who was able to easily buy out politicians and businessmen." Charlie Brown could tell that Rick was struggling to hold back tears at this point, "And if he wanted you out of the way...you disappeared."

Rick stood up and gazed out of the window, so Charlie Brown couldn't see the stream of tears that began to flow down his face, "My wife was determined to bring him to justice. She lost sleep too many nights obsessing over being able to pin any one of the heinous crimes he committed to him. When I heard she was on the case, I pleaded for her to stop. Even an idiot like me could see the dangers in going after a man like him. She kept telling me though that she couldn't stand to see another life lost just to make this man's stock rise one percent." Charlie Brown began to feel queasy; he knew where this story was going. Though his back was faced to Charlie Brown, the way that Rick's hands were trembling betrayed how difficult it was for him to continue his story, "For months our house received threats. One time some of his goons stopped me in the street and beat me to a pulp. It wasn't until they threatened to go after our rare gem though that my wife agreed to drop the case."

Charlie Brown, out of surprise, interrupted, "They were going to go after Peppermint Patty?"

Rick paused a moment before confirming, "This man was brutal, but he was also cunning. He knew that Patricia was our entire world. When my wife heard that they were bringing her into this she resigned her post. Not all the justice in the world would be worth it to put our rare gem in danger."

Charlie Brown nodded, "I completely understand..."

Rick then kicked the wall in anger, "But that bastard! He decided that my wife still knew too much! That she still posed a threat! Him and his thugs came to our house one day, when Peppermint Patty was sleeping, thank god, and took my wife away! I tried to stop them, but they were able to knock me unconscious." Mr. Reichardt wiped away some of his remaining tears and sternly continued, "They made her death look like a suicide. Like she jumped off the top of her own building."

Charlie Brown listened in horror, he never knew that Peppermint Patty had gone through so much trauma in her life. "But, this man, he couldn't have gotten away with any of this! I mean, he left you and Patty alive didn't he? They must have gotten him right?"

Rick shook his head, "If he took us out it would be too suspicious. The entire Reichardt family getting knocked off. My wife's exploits against him were well known at that time, after all. No, that monster ensured that he'd keep me quiet. If I ever told anybody my daughter would get it...while I was forced to watch." He sighed, "Just like my wife, I don't care if that monster gets off the hook; I will never put my rare gem in danger." Rick noticed the look of horror in Charlie Brown's face. He quickly concluded, "That man has since fled the country. Though they were never able to pin him for anything, they came close once a few years back. He left in order to avoid further investigation by the FBI. But you never know who's on his payroll and listening. That's why I ain't telling you his name, got it Chucko?"

Charlie Brown wasn't really concerned with any personal danger he might have been in, to ease Rick's trepidation he replied, "Oh I understand." He then sighed, "I can't believe Patty has had to go through all of that. And you too of course! I'm so sorry about everything!"

Rick turned around and smiled, "Even though my wife is gone, you have no idea how happy I am to have my rare gem. Sure we have gone through a lot and it can be tough with me working nights and all, but having her in my life is the best thing that ever happened to me. And that man can never take away those few years that I had with both my wife and daughter."

Charlie Brown nodded, "Of course!" He then added, somewhat embarrassed, "I'm really sorry for making you relive all that right now. I shouldn't be so nosy."

Rick walked over to Charlie Brown and rubbed his (very thin) hair into something of a mess, "Well any friend of my rare gem is bound to be nosy, eh? I'm glad she has a friend like you to ask about this though. As much as she likes to hold these kinds of things in, she needs to talk about it."

Charlie Brown smiled, "Well your daughter has always been there for me when I had troubles...and I'm sure she's told you how much of a headcase I can be!"

Rick smirked, "Well the one thing she constantly tells me about you is that you kind of like her, ain't that right, Chucko?" Charlie Brown's face went beat red and he characteristically began to stammer like an idiot. Rick laughed, "She also said you tend to act like a deer in headlights quite often. Well should the occasion ever present itself, you sure got my blessing buddy! You're certainly the best guy around here for my rare gem." He slapped Charlie Brown on his back.

Charlie Brown nervously replied, "Oh...um...thanks?"

Rick grinned, "Oh come on kiddo, I'm messing with ya! Loosen up!" Charlie Brown and Rick laughed a bit before Rick continued, "Look, you're completely on the money about my daughter. She doesn't like opening up about all this, but she needs a friend right now more than you could possibly imagine." Charlie Brown thought to himself that after hearing what happened to her mother, he can imagine quite a bit about why she would need a friend. "She's at the graveyard past the train tracks by the church. I'm pretty sure she'll be there for a while, so why don't you mosey off over there." He looked at his watch, "Ah darn it, I'm running late, I better get going!"

Charlie Brown nodded, "Thanks for everything...Rick!"

Mr. Reichardt smiled, "No problem kiddo! Talking about it even did me some good too! Now see if you can help my daughter! Come on! Vamanos...I think that's how you say it...".

Charlie Brown, despite hearing that terrible story, felt invigorated enough to continue trying to talk to Peppermint Patty. He left her house and with the level of determination you'd see in a typical baseball game of his, he marched towards the graveyard.

…...

Charlie Brown had no trouble finding his friend once he got to the graveyard about twenty minutes later; it was relatively new and sparsely populated. Peppermint Patty was standing over her mother's grave, a simple stone headstone which read "Jennifer Pepper-Reichardt: Loving Wife and Mother." There were some flowers that Patty must have laid out today for her mother in addition to older looking flowers that must have been here from earlier visits.

Charlie Brown slowly approached his friend and quietly spoke to her, "Hey Patty, it's me, Chuck."

With her back still turned to him, facing her mother's grave, she replied, "Oh sheesh, why won't you leave me alone today Chuck? I don't want to talk!" Charlie Brown noticed that she was sniffling in between words; it was quite obvious that she was crying.

Charlie Brown ignored her and stood next to her, he looked at her face which was flushed with tears. "I talked to your dad Patty...he told me about your mom and about what that terrible man did."

She snapped at him, "You just couldn't keep your nose out of this huh?" She then paused, "Why would he tell you that though? You aren't supposed to know that!"

Charlie Brown replied, "I told him that I was worried about you, you seemed so out of it today.

Peppermint Patty grumbled, "Yeah well, it's the anniversary of my mom's death. You'd be out of it too Chuck."

Charlie Brown nodded, "I understand."

Tears began to well up in her eyes, "No you don't Chuck! You have both your parents! You didn't have to go bed at night wondering why mommy wasn't around to tuck you in anymore!"

Charlie Brown stood next to her silently as she continued to cry. She looked at him, "So I guess the secret is out, huh Chuck? I'm not tough at all. I'm just some wuss girl who can't keep it together because she lost her mom years ago! I'm a complete mess."

Charlie Brown put his hand on Peppermint Patty's shoulder, "You're right about what you said before Patty. I really don't know what it's like to lose someone so close to me. I really don't know how it feels. But I do know that you've been through more than anyone else we know. You're stronger than anyone Patty." He then smiled at her, "And given the circumstances, it's certainly alright to cry." He whispered, "Please don't tell anyone, but I've cried for much, much less. I know you want to appear strong, but it isn't healthy holding things in like this all the time."

Peppermint Patty didn't respond. The only noise she made was an occasional sniffle. Charlie Brown continued, "I realize you may want some privacy right now, so I'll leave. But if you ever do need to talk you can always trust me. I'll see you tomorrow."

Charlie Brown turned away and began to walk off when Peppermint Patty grabbed his arm, "Wait Chuck! Don't go...I think I'd rather you stay with me for a little bit. If you don't mind." Charlie Brown smiled at her and stood next to her as she stared at her mother's grave in contemplation. He extended his hand to her and she took it, and for a few minutes they just looked at the grave. He wished he knew what was going on in her head, but all that really mattered was that she was doing whatever was mentally necessary for her to move on to another day.

After about five minutes of silence she took a deep breath and asked, "Why'd my mom have to leave me Chuck?" and began to sob again. Charlie Brown didn't know what to say. He just put his arm around her shoulder and let her cry into his shirt. Whatever it took to help his friend.

A/N: I always thought that Peppermint Patty's mother was one of the more interesting mysteries of the Peanuts universe and I thought it would be interesting to examine Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty's friendship in regards to this. I hope to eventually revisit the story about Peppermint Patty's mother and her killer in a more direct way in the future.